Push'd DHX review(Finally!)

I was going to let Crash the Dog do the initial writeup on this shock, but he is a busy man this week. There are a few things that bothered me about the stock DHX, combined with the high leverage ratio of the 6-pack. For one, the shock would blow thru the first five inches of its travel, and then ramp up harshly at the end of it's stroke to prevent bottomout. There was just never a smooth progression to the travel when busting thru rock gardens with drops. The second thing that bothered me is that on square edge hits, the stock DHX always felt harsh, regardless of Boost pressures, and volume. Once again, this may all be related to the 3:1 leverage ratio. My hopes with the Push'd version, is that it would resolve both of these issues, but I was very skeptical.

The proving grounds for the Push'd DHx, was a 12 mile stretch of Downhill up at Brianhead Ski Resort in Southern Utah. The trail consists of a variety of terrain, including smooth twisty single track, steep technical rock gardens, and sections of rocky, rooty off camber exposed single track. In other words, the perfect place to pound your rear end! :eekster: (Flashback to that nickel at Chino)

After strapping on the Push, I took it for the parking lot test. The shock felt dead like a 5th Element would. I sped up the rebound, and opened the midstroke compression all the way up, and then added two full turns. On the inital climb to the peak, I noticed no difference in platform between the Push and Stock. No extra bobbing, and no extra firm feel. It was on the downhilll that the shock began to shine. The push DHX ate up the rock gardens, and kept the tire glued to the ground. The stock DHX would kind of skip along the rocks, and on square edge hits, would get hung up, and I would lose my momentum. The Push on the other hand has a much smoother ramp up at the end of the stroke, and does not blow thru the inital travel. I did not have a chance to hit anything bigger than about 4 foot of air, but the Push felt like it had an extra inch of travel at the end of the stroke. The one weakness that the Push had, is that it was not as easily boosted over rocks.(See bunny hop). In this regard, it felt a lot like a 5th element. Other than that, I am totally impressed with it's trail manners. I found myself hitting rocky sections faster, and railing corners steeper. Totally worth the investment.

My DHX is now almost a year old, so I have no problem plopping down $275.00 or whatever to have mine Push'd. Now if you just purchased your bike, and your shock is new, you may not feel that the investment is worth it. Abuse your current setup for 6 months ,and then send it in. YOu'll be happy you did.

One little gripe about the midstroke compression dial: as this shock got dusty and dirty, the compression knob became quite gritty. I really couldn't tell how many clicks I was adding or subtracting. Also, the clicks are in such small increments, that it becomes tedious to count. I much prefer the click imcrements on the original propedal knob. Two thumbs up for the Push!